Thanks to the July 25 MLS All-Star Game in Philadelphia, the U.S. Open Cup final in early August and the series of exhibitions involving high-profile foreign clubs like Real Madrid and AC Milan, it might feel like the business end of the MLS regular season still is some ways away.

But with 14 of the 19 MLS teams already more than halfway through their schedule, crunch time is going to come quickly. Sporting News offers 10 burning questions to ponder for the second half, as clubs battle for playoff position and, for the first time, home-field advantage in the biggest game of all:

1. Will the Red Bulls ever get bang for their buck?

Despite a host of injuries and the unexpected offseason departure of forward Luke Rodgers, the New York Red Bulls are 9-5-4 and just two points out of first place in the Eastern Conference.

But as usual, there’s the sense that coach Hans Backe’s team could be so much more. He has done well to squeeze the most out of a revolving back line and struck gold in rookie goalkeeper Ryan Meara and former Portland Timbers striker Kenny Cooper. Meanwhile, Thierry Henry and Rafa Márquez—earning a combined $10.2 million this year (more than twice the combined salaries of most MLS teams)—remain inconsistent contributors, at best.

Henry enjoyed a fabulous start to the season (nine goals in eight games) but hasn’t scored since April 28. He has been hurt for the most part, a serious hamstring knock followed by a calf injury that kept him out of two road games in mid-June and last weekend’s loss in New England.

Márquez, meanwhile, has played all of seven MLS games this year thanks to injuries and suspensions. New York is 5-0-2 in those matches.

When they’re healthy and focused, the former Barcelona stars are elite players but this is the risk a club takes when it shells out millions for athletes in their 30s. Right now, it’s the players further down the club payroll who have lifted the Red Bulls to within striking distance of first place. It’s perfectly reasonable to wonder whether Henry and Márquez will contribute consistently at some point. If New York is to contend for its first MLS title, they must start earning their money.

2. Who is the next coach to go down?

Three managers—Portland’s John Spencer, Philadelphia’s Peter Nowak and Toronto’s Aron Winter—have lost their jobs this season. None of those firings was a shock, and all three clubs remain among the bottom four in the overall standings.

They’re joined by FC Dallas, which is enduring a nightmare 3-9-7 campaign. Could Schellas Hyndman, at the helm for four years, be the next MLS coach to be shown the door?

Despite Dallas’ miserable record, it seems unlikely. The club has been gutted by injuries, having lost 14 key players for a total of 84 games, among them 2010 MVP David Ferreira (17), midfielder Ricardo Villar (12) and defenders Ugo Ihemelu (nine) and George John (four). Brek Shea, who has missed seven games through injury or suspension, has failed to recapture his 2011 form and has been struggling with a turf toe injury.

Not to mention that Hyndman is a Dallas institution who took the club to its only MLS Cup final and who coached owner Clark Hunt back at SMU.

If Hyndman gets the mulligan he deserves, who else might be dealing with some second-half pressure? Chivas USA’s Robin Fraser (5-7-5) and the Columbus Crew’s Robert Warzycha (6-6-4) would seem to be next in the firing line. Fraser remains well-regarded and doesn’t exactly have the Galaxy’s coffers to work with, and Warzycha is a Columbus staple who has maintained his club’s competitiveness as it rebuilds.

3. Is D.C. United a legitimate MLS Cup contender?

The capital club would have been happy this season with a return to the playoffs after a four-year absence. But now coach Ben Olsen’s team is tied for first in the East at 10-5-3 and has an offense that has produced the second-highest goal total in MLS. With depth at almost every position and 2011 MVP Dwayne De Rosario pulling the strings, a bid for the Cup suddenly isn’t out of the question.

The road to the final, however, is a bit grittier, nastier and more defensive than the regular season, and besides former RSL title-winner Robbie Russell, D.C.’s defensive players lack convincing championship pedigree.

De Rosario is 34 and doesn’t have a ton of prime left. Olsen and general manager Dave Kasper might want to test new investor Erick Thohir’s championship resolve this summer and see if they can’t get a veteran defender to make things a bit more difficult for playoff opposition.

4. Will Omar Gonzalez make a championship difference?

Speaking of defensive upgrades, if MVP awards were subject to review (no disrespect to DeRo), Gonzalez might be named the retroactive winner of the 2011 trophy. The only major difference between the L.A. Galaxy team that swept all before it last year and the one now in fifth place (7-10-2) in the West is Gonzalez, who tore knee ligaments over the winter.

Gonzalez, 23, played 45 minutes on July 4 and is slowly returning to fitness. L.A. won last year thanks to an airtight defense that gave Landon Donovan, David Beckham and Robbie Keane (not to mention the effervescent Mike Magee) time to make that one perfect play. Each could play better and L.A.’s problems might run deeper, but if Gonzalez’s return sets off a positive chain reaction the Western Conference race could get even tighter.

5. Can the San Jose Earthquakes play it safe?

The 'Quakes might have the league’s best record (11-4-4), but they’ve been living dangerously. Five times they’ve won a game with a goal after the 75th minute (four times in stoppage time) and three times they’ve scored late to tie. That sort of desperate, come-from-behind stuff is exciting, but it can wear out players. Just ask the 2010 U.S. World Cup team.

San Jose can’t count on Chris Wondolowski’s routine late-game heroics in the playoffs, much less Alan Gordon’s. You can’t roll the dice too many times. Mistake-free teams capture championships, and the Earthquakes must manage games a bit better to win in postseason.

6. Can MLS clubs demonstrate Champions League improvement?

Ironically, the only one of the five MLS teams scheduled to compete in the 2012-13 CONCACAF Champions League that won’t be distracted by a playoff race is the one least likely to do any damage, Toronto FC.

The others—L.A., Seattle, Real Salt Lake and Houston—must juggle flights to the Caribbean and Latin America with their pursuit of MLS playoff position.

They will find some relief, however, in the new competition format. Groups have been cut from four teams to three, lightening the schedule congestion and travel. And only Toronto faces Mexican opposition in the first round, which kicks off July 31.

Three MLS clubs made the CCL quarterfinals last season. If big-name clubs like L.A., Seattle and RSL can’t win their groups this fall and still make regular-season headway, it’ll be fair to ask whether American teams ever will contend consistently for continental honors under current MLS constraints.

7. Will complaints about the disciplinary committee ever stop?

Death, taxes and indignant fans and coaches complaining about sanctions handed down each week by the MLS disciplinary committee—equally inevitable and annoying. Every time a player is suspended or fined for a hard tackle or dangerous play, there is a rush to Twitter to point out all the other players who should have been cited as well.

What those people are missing is the disciplinary committee’s objective isn’t to punish every offending player, just like the police to try to catch every speeder.

The point is to create a deterrent over time and an environment where players and coaches think about how the game is played and how they can make it safer. That’s going to take a while, and it’s about much more than whether a single player misses a single game. Each suspension handed down represents another opportunity for players and coaches to learn what sort of behavior the league is trying to eliminate and might lead to a suspension.

Over time, the committee hopes, players will check themselves at the moment of truth. Only one or two of those lessons are necessary each week, if that, to maintain the message.

8. How will the playoff format affect the end of the regular season?

For years, it didn’t matter where a team finished in the MLS standings as long as it reached the playoffs. The postseason was a crapshoot.

Now, positioning counts. Not only will the fourth and fifth seeds in each conference have to play an extra game that will tire them out before their quarterfinal meeting with the top seed, but a bigger prize awaits the finalist with the better record—playing host to the MLS Cup final. That means every point matters, even to the teams that have clinched a playoff spot.

Many fans feared that adding a ninth and 10th playoff team would devalue the regular season. It might prove to have the opposite effect, now that teams have seen what a disadvantage that extra game could be—last year’s two wild cards went a combined 0-4-0 in the quarterfinal round, scoring one goal. That, plus the race to host the Cup final, could make this the most intense stretch run yet.

9. Will John Hackworth and Freddy Adu earn their stripes in Philly?

Hackworth has been given plenty of power for an interim coach—he dismissed two key members of Nowak’s staff following the changeover—and certainly will be the favorite to earn the job on a permanent basis if the Union continue to demonstrate improvement.

Adu has plenty to prove as well. He has been in MLS for a year and should be plenty comfortable, and he has shown a few flashes of brilliance in recent weeks that whet the appetite. Now, at 23 and as the Union’s highest-paid player, Adu should make an impact in every game he plays.

Philadelphia has made a significant commitment to Adu, the former teen phenomenon, and he won’t have many more chances to prove his worth as a force at the senior level. His future and that of his new coach depends on it.

10. Who is the next MLS call-up?

A U.S. national team composed almost entirely of MLS players defeated both Venezuela and Panama in January. As a result, Houston Dynamo defender Geoff Cameron and Sporting Kansas City midfielder Graham Zusi were called into Jurgen Klinsmann’s May camp. Cameron made the team for the ensuing World Cup qualifiers.

With so many American players now competing abroad, national team spots for MLS talent is at a premium. There were only five domestic players on Klinsmann’s 23-man roster. Are there any more out there who might emerge to push for a spot like Cameron and Zusi?

D.C. United’s Chris Pontius is a candidate. Comfortable at forward or outside midfield, the Californian has nine goals in 15 games this season. Second-year Houston forward Will Bruin (nine goals) might warrant a look at some point, and veteran Eddie Johnson (eight) might deserve a call-back if he maintains his focus and scoring rate.

Chivas USA goalkeeper Dan Kennedy has a logjam in front of him but appears to be just as talented as Nick Rimando and Bill Hamid, who Klinsmann has called up in the past year.

In back, San Jose’s Steven Beitashour could offer the attacking punch at outside back Klinsmann prefers. (He is eligible to play for Iran through his father, so time is of the essence.) Center backs like Jay DeMerit, Nat Borchers or Chad Marshall might warrant a look as the U.S. back four remains unsettled.